Scavenger Hunt Date Ideas

Are you tired of the same old dinner and drinks date routine? Want to switch things up and try something new? Scavenger hunts have, along with escape rooms, become a super popular activity among friends or colleagues. While finding your way out of a locked room with the team you work with every day is a fun way to bond in a new context, as date ideas go, an escape room could be a little, well, intense!

Scavenger hunts, however, segue far more seamlessly from ‘team building’ into ‘fun date night idea’ as they can be bespoke. For a start, you’re in charge (if you design the scavenger hunt yourself that is) and they can be as long or as short as you like, depending on what stage your romance is at. It might take a bit (OK,a lot) of forward planning but it can be a really cute date idea and is a fun and creative way to get to know someone whilst exploring your city or town. 

Whatever your shared interests may be, here are nine scavenger hunt date ideas that might ultimately lead to you deepening your connection with your match.

If you and your date are beer lovers, this one's for you. Create a list of local breweries or bars and challenge each other to find specific beers or complete beer-related tasks, like taking a photo with a certain brewmaster or tasting a particular type of beer.

Head to your local art museum with a list of specific pieces to find or clues to follow. Make it even more interesting by looking for things hidden in paintings. Can you find a dog, a book, or a naked body part? 

History nerds will love this. Research your local historical sites and create a list of certain things to find or learn about. Maybe you hunt plaques or statues, or pick a certain period and design the scavenger hunt around that. 

You don’t have to live in a foodie hotspot like London or New York to enjoy this one. Create a list of cuisines and try to tick as many off as you can. Is it possible to eat Thai, Indian, French, Italian or American in the space of a single date? Give it a go! And yes, ordering delivery takeaway is cheating (but could also make for a fun date!)

This one is a great way to explore your local community and discover new places together. To start, create a list of items or clues that can be found in the vicinity. For example, you can include landmarks, murals, or local businesses. Then work together racing around to find all the items on your list. 

Maybe the weather isn’t great, or you're more of an indoor type anyway. Charging round a shopping mall with a hilarious list of challenges is only ever going to be a great date option. The goal should be to find and photograph designated items or complete tasks throughout the mall. For example, you could require your partner to take a selfie with a mannequin, find a certain item of clothing, or buy the funniest thing they can find for a tiny budget. Just try not to get chucked out!

If you and your partner are in a long-distance relationship or are building up to a date IRL this is a really cute ‘date’ idea. Send each other a list of things to find online in an allotted time frame. It could be an answer to a difficult question, particular facts, an image of a celebrity doing something, a piece of music—the only limit is your own imagination.

If you love your memes, and let’s face it, who doesn’t, you’ll love this idea. Send each other memes that best describe various situations. Your current mood, your attitude to romance, the weather, the place where you live, your personality.

This is the sweetest idea yet in our opinion. If you’re a new couple, you’ll get to know each other on a deeper level. Write down clues that encourage you both to find and share your favorite things, or the objects that make you happy.  “Find something that makes you smile”, “find something that smells nice to you”, “find something that reminds you of a family member”. Have a little ‘show and tell’ moment when you explain the meaning behind the objects you’ve found and ask each other lots of follow-up questions.

You can also add challenges along the way. Depending on how game you and your date are, these could be things like ‘take a photo with a stranger’, ‘do a dance in a public space’, or ‘see how long it takes you to run up the steps of the library’. Read the room before throwing these ideas out there though—they could be an introvert’s worst nightmare!

Be sure to set a time limit for any scavenger hunt—it’s the aim of the game after all, and  you don’t want it to drag on forever. The whole idea is that this is a really fun date, full of humor and playfulness. If things don’t go to plan, and somewhere is closed or you can’t find a particular clue, don’t worry about it. It’s a way of getting to know your date and trying something new together. Just make sure not to gloat too hard if you’re the winner.